Defence CommitteeWritten evidence from Philippa J Bleach, Head of History, Connaught School, Aldershot and Prof Martin L Parsons, Research Fellow, University of Reading

As a result of Parental deployment, Service Children can experience a significant number of school transfers which can lead to a number of related issues including:

feeling of “rootlessness”;

separation anxiety;

possible psychiatric or behaviour problems;

a disrupted education;

difficulty in making and maintaining friendships;

feeling a burden of responsibility towards siblings and parents; and

an overwhelming fear of the death of a love one.

Many teachers and care-workers assume that all Service children are already able to deal with the consequences of being a Service child and will be receiving some support from welfare services within the army; many of these children are simply seen as being resilient and able to get by. Whilst this may be true of many Service children, there are those who do find it difficult to cope; socially, emotionally and academically. Research (Bleach) reveals that there is a clear need for a more structured network of support to help Service children face any difficulties that arise within their educational experience. As a result it is suggested that particular attention should be drawn to the importance of the provision of in-service teacher training and support in Service Child matters.

Despite the high concentration of Service Children in particular schools across the country, the interests of this group are generally played down due to the assumption made about their resilience. Whilst conducting the research, it became quite apparent that for many educators and parents, Service Children were not viewed as needing particular assistance and there were a number of adults who even questioned the use of the term “war child” being connected with this cohort of children.

Further interviews and discussions with adults and the children involved in this school based study,1 demonstrated that there is a huge lack of understanding about the social and emotional difficulties that Service Children may face. Two key questions became apparent:

How can the presumptions about Service children be dispelled?

How can an improved awareness of this group of children be put into practice in order that a valuable network of support is made available?

The pastoral leaders who regularly have to deal with the social and emotional issues of teens and are in direct contact with parents, have had no formal training on the needs of Service Children, despite the school’s close geographical proximity to the Aldershot garrison and having had to deal with Service Children on a fairly regular basis. Although there is an army welfare contact, this is rarely used, instead those pastoral leaders who have needed to, have taken the initiative and arranged in-school counselling sessions for particular Service Children when required and have also listened carefully to concerned parents. However, the issues that are specific to Service families are not mentioned in pastoral training courses, and it is only due to the experience and personal depth of empathy, that this particular group of teachers have been able to provide support. All pastoral leaders said that they would very much welcome specific training on Service children and families.

Many teachers do not realise that Service Children’s emotional and social problems do not just suddenly stop when the parent leaves the forces or comes back home. For many the problems encountered will reverberate throughout their life.

The main issues that arise in the relationships between Service Child and parent are:

Separation anxiety.

Pressure of responsibility on both parent and child.

Competitiveness.

Attention seeking.

Lack of open and transparent communication.

Educational Experience of Children

When it came to asking students about their educational experience as a Service Child, the responses were consistent:

Students felt that constant movement led to repetition of topics, missed curriculum elements and a feeling of being “left behind” (32 out of 40).

When parents were deployed concentration was affected in school, partly as a result of problems sleeping. 21 students out of the 37 children of current serving personnel said that they had trouble sleeping when their parent is not there, even if they are on duty on a UK base near home.

Students felt that the majority of teachers did not understand what life was like as a Service child; not all children commented on this but out of the 18 that did:

(i)11 believed that teachers were unaware of their problems;

(ii)four said that only teachers from Service backgrounds could understand;

(iii)one said he would prefer it if teachers didn’t know anything about his Service child status; and

(iv)four said that teachers “try to understand”.

Another key comment by students related to the question of transport, as some relied on taxis getting them to and from school. This had caused them problems as the taxi timings were inflexible and students were picked up straight after school. As a result some could not participate in extra-curricular activities.

All parents who took part in the study felt that there was more support and help for Service families during KS1 and 2. Beyond that, parents commented that there needed to be:

more awareness amongst secondary staff of how to help and support Service Children when they are in school;

increased help and support when parent(s) are on deployment; and

more flexibility in allowing holidays during term time when parents get back from a forces tour of duty.

Go into any book shop and pick up books on teacher training, and you will be unable to find any clear advice on the educational needs of Service children, yet you will find chapters on the inclusion of SEN, EAL and Gifted and Talented pupils. Although there may be groups in the UK focused on improving the educational experience of Service Children, questions need to be raised on the impact that these groups are truly having.

In our opinion the Select Committee are advised to consider the following issues when reviewing and evaluating the education of service children.

Pupil Transfer

(a) Schools should be aware of and acknowledge the time scale of children settling into schools and the “switch off” phase when they know that they are leaving. This usually amounts to two weeks at either end of the process. Therefore a child is in danger of “losing” a month of schooling at each transfer.

(b) There should be a statutory time-scale regarding the transfer of pupil records between schools. This should be within a maximum of seven days of the pupil moving. Such documents should include an overview of the number of schools attended and the places to which the parent(s) has been deployed and, if possible, the nature of the deployment eg Front-line action, support/admin role.

This should also include children of civilian contractors who are attached to service units in combat areas.

(c) Very detailed academic record keeping on Service Children should be kept up to date and available at short notice outside of the normal termly/half-termly phases. This is important at all Key Stages, but critical in exam years.

(d) With reference to exams: It should be noted that some pupils may be repeating topics and in some cases having to comply with subject regulations in totally different exam boards. This is a severe disadvantage to all such pupils in years 10–13. Exam boards should be made aware of the problems as they pertain to specific individuals and alternative arrangements and/or allowance in final assessments should be made.

(e) Provision should be made within the reception schools for those service pupils recognised as having special needs and learning difficulties above and beyond those linked specifically to Service Children. Such information should be highlighted on the transfer documents and include action(s) already in place so that there can be some continuity of approach at the receiving school(s).

(f) It should be noted, that in some cases, levels of support indicated in Special Needs Statements are NOT transferable between LEAs. There needs to be continuity of provision.

Schools/Staff

(a) Teachers and the school in general should be aware of the problems associated with child/parent separation. (see Peter Heinl. Splintered Innocence). This should be a whole-staff responsibility, but with a senior member of the Pastoral team being given the task of overseeing the support/mentoring of service children.

(b) The effect that such separation has on children depends on a number of criteria which are personal to the child concerned. It is very easy to maintain a holistic approach to Service Children within an establishment, whereas the strategy should be one of dealing with them as individuals.

(c) Each child can be affected by:

(i)Their position within the sibling hierarchy. Many children at the upper end often take on a parental responsibility which is only alleviated while they are physically at school. At home their responsibilities can create a great deal of emotional strain and anxiety.

(ii)Some have to organise younger siblings which often puts pressure on them at the beginning and end of the day and disenfranchises them from post-school extra-curricular activities.

(iii)The same children can often act as carers and emotional support for their mothers dealing with deployment, and also from their fathers who have returned from conflict either with a serious injury or with PTSD.

(iv)When a child exhibits what seems on the surface to be anti-social and attention-seeking behaviour, s/he is usually dealt with within the behaviour policies of the school without necessarily considering the domestic background of the child. The latter is often not disclosed because the child does not want the situation to come to the notice of the authorities. Therefore, some children become labelled as disruptive when all they need is contact with someone who understands the situation, is a possible sounding board, and in extreme cases, access to a physical location where they can simply vent their anger and frustration.

(v)Many service children find it difficult to make and maintain friendships and relationships. Again, this can depend on the position of the child within the family. Research (Parsons et al) shows that one of the long-term effects of separation is the problem of maintaining long-term relationships. This is due to the child realising that their position is transitory, so why make the effort. A sense of rejection is ever present and is a trait that can last into adulthood. Although some schools attempt to place service children within friendship groups, such actions should not be forced and any reticence on behalf of the child should not be seen as standoffishness, arrogance or disinterest.

(vi)School staff and the authorities need to be aware that War related trauma in children can extend to the third generation. (Heinl, Parsons, Sandelin-Benko).

Inset

(a) The responsibility of Service Children in schools should not lie with the Pastoral Team alone. A series of INSET sessions in school should inform All staff of their roles and responsibilities, and how to recognise some of the symptoms which would indicate a child having problems.

(b) Staff should be made aware of the strategies available in school to provide support to such children.

(c) Schools should be advised on how best to use the Service Pupil Premium.

Conclusion/Recommendations

(a) Service families, especially those of NCOs should be made aware of the existing provision of financial support for boarding fees in state schools. Although recognising that this could exacerbate the problems of separation, for those in exam years this could nonetheless provide social and academic continuity.

(b) At present, Service Children are only eligible for Free School Meals or Service Pupil Provision....not both. This seems to be an anomaly which needs to be rectified.

(c) There needs to be a minimum two-year post-service monitoring of Service Children whose parent(s) have left the armed forces. For some the problems remain, especially where the father is suffering from physical/mental trauma. To cut off any support immediately the parent has left employment could have a devastating effect on the child(ren).

(d) Make the present provision within the OFSTED inspections regarding Service Children a much more important issue. Especially where schools have a high proportion of service children on roll.

(e) Establish a regulatory body within the Ministry of Education or Ministry of Defence with the specific responsibility of monitoring the education of service children.

Within Schools

(a) Appoint someone with responsibility for Service Children..

(b) Be transparent and use “deployment” as part of curriculum and lesson planning.

(c) Deal with service children as “individuals” not as a holistic group.

(d) Have a separate section in school library for books dealing with service life, deployment, friendships, bereavement.

(e) Use Service Pupil Premium strategically.

January 2013